Cover Janina Manipol (Photo: Wesley Villarica)

Director and producer Janina Manipol tells us about her two great loves: the art of videography and helping others

In the What Matters To Me series, a Generation T honouree describes what they do, why they do it, and why it matters.

Perhaps best known as a video producer with her own production company, Maldavar Films, Janina Manipol’s more recent venture is MySmile. Co-founded with dental hygienist Chiara Echiverri, the company provides teeth-whitening systems for use at home, with a portion of the sales supporting non-profit organisations that offer life-changing free surgery to children with a cleft lip or palate.

As a content creator and visual storyteller, Manipol strives to tell meaningful stories and help brands get their message out to the public in the most impactful manner possible. When not in the thick of producing videos, she spends her time giving back to less fortunate communities in the Philippines. 

Here, Manipol shares how she stays inspired in her industry.

Tatler Asia
Above Janina Manipol (Photo: Wesley Villarica)

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve always been fascinated by the way that film and the arts make people feel, and how it can impact society. I didn’t exactly know which role in production I was going to be in at first but I always knew I loved every bit of it. I tried all sorts of roles: TV acting, commercial modelling, sound engineering and hosting. Now I work as a freelance advertising director and co-founded a production company called Maldavar Films with my fiancé Seb, who’s also a filmmaker.

Honestly... everything in the process of video production is challenging. From writing the story, creating the concept, producing the video and especially the post production part. 

In MySmile, my partner Chiara and I both have very different backgrounds, but we joined forces to help make the world a better place by partnering with non-profit organisations that give free cleft lip and cleft palette surgeries to children in need. It’s one of our passions to support this single, solvable problem and it makes our heart full to see these kids with new smiles. 

One of the things I learned about myself through my work with MySmile is that I like exploring new ideas and taking calculated risks. Something I learned is that if you’re consistent in your messaging, clear in your communication and authentic in your story, you’ll go a long way.

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The best advice I have received is to always treat people right. The value of having allies throughout your career cannot be stressed enough. Talking with people who understand what you’re going through is so important for me. 

I’ve really been inspired by Elon Musk. His life story is insane. He has a brain of a super-human and turned his dreams into a reality by founding Tesla, SpaceX, The Boring Company, Neuralink and more. I admire his entrepreneurial spirit a lot.

It’s definitely been difficult for both of my companies, Maldovar and MySmile, during the pandemic. We all had to suddenly find new ways of doing things. I had to learn how to shoot digital advertisements remotely, directing the talents on how to set up their own equipment and making the video look professional despite the lack of on-site staff. 

The most memorable shoot I had was when I did Ms World Philippines’ Michelle Dee’s advocacy video about children with autism. We travelled to the mountains of Sagada and told such a meaningful story. I shot, directed, scored and edited it as well.

In terms of trends in content creation, I really see a future in NFT art and the whole blockchain technology for digital asset ownership. Everything is going digital now more than ever.

There are three things you must never forget as a director or producer: pay attention to every single detail, bring all your teams together to collaborate effectively, and always remember that your only competition is yourself.


See more Gen.T honourees from the Media, Marketing & Advertising category of the Gen.T List 2020

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